2 / Are premiums paid on personal life insurance deductible for income tax purposes?

No. Premiums paid on personal life insurance are a personal expense and are not deductible.¹ Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations specifically provide that “[p]remiums paid for life insurance by the insured are not deductible.”² It is immaterial whether the premiums are paid by the insured or by some other person. For example, premiums paid by an individual for insurance on the life of his or her spouse are nondeductible personal expenses of the individual. Premiums are not deductible regardless of whether the insurance is government life insurance or regular commercial life insurance.³ Although personal life insurance premiums, as such, are not deductible, they may be deductible as the payment of alimony (prior to 2018, see Q 109), as charitable contributions ( Q 120 to Q 127), or as ordinary and necessary business expenses.

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1.     IRC §§ 262(a) and 264.

2.     Treas. Reg. § 1.262-1(b)(1).

3.     Kutz v. Commissioner, 5 BTA 239 (1926).